home is where hearts beat together
by punkhale
Summary: Safe was not something Isaac was used to feeling -he hadn't been safe in a long time. It wasn't that he'd thought he would never be free, it was just that it had seemed so far away that he didn't dwell on it. It was different now.


**prompt: **no but remember when we first talked and we were chatting about isaac moving back home and he had a nightmare and then made it a habit of sleeping on melissas floors because it made him feel better? that would be super cute to read

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Safe was not something Isaac was used to feeling -he hadn't been safe in a long time. It wasn't that he'd thought he would never be free, it was just that it had seemed so far away that he didn't dwell on it.

It was different now. Isaac had never really thought he'd have a family again. He'd had a place at Derek's, for awhile, but it had never really felt like _family_. But moving to the McCall house felt safe, more than returning to his father's house ever had.

Melissa was everything his father was not. She was compassionate and gentle with him, never pushing or prodding. She laughed when he made a joke and made sure he had lunch money for school. She was the kind of parent he'd only ever seen in movies and on TV.

And her love for Scott, their love for each other, filled up every corner of their house.

At first it had been intimidating and Isaac had felt like an intruder. Both the McCalls had quickly crushed his fear though. It took the three of them a week to learn how to live with each other, for Isaac to learn the give and take. And then he just felt comfortable, the love Scott and Melissa had opening up and accepting them into the fold of their lives.

The first time Scott had kissed him had been in the kitchen during breakfast. Melissa had just left for work. Her and Scott had hugged briefly, they usually did before one of them left (Isaac had a feeling it was partly out of fear -with Scott as a werewolf anything could happen while they were away from each other) and Isaac had stood up from where he'd been sitting and wrapped her up in a quick embrace too.

Isaac couldn't remember the last time he'd hugged someone. It felt nice and he found that he wanted to do it all the time.

Both McCalls had looked at him for a second, surprise clearly written on their faces, then Melissa had smiled, ruffled his hair, and run out the door.

He returned to his eggs, acutely aware of Scott's eyes on him.

"What is it?" he asked after a few long moments. He could hear Scott's heart beating strong, steady but a little bit quicker than normal. Isaac was very familiar with the thumping pattern of Scott's heart, had listened to it to fall asleep to on more nights than he usually cared to admit. He'd told himself it was just because Scott was his alpha, it was just a pack thing, but he knew that was a lie.

Suddenly Scott was next to him, over him, and Isaac couldn't control the way his own heart sped up at the proximity.

"I'm glad you're here," Scott said, his voice just above a whisper. It made something low in Isaac's stomach pulse but he didn't have time to react to it before Scott was leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

It didn't go further than that and they both went to school content and smiling.

* * *

Isaac woke with a start, his nightmares still rolling fresh through his mind. It had been dark and he could still feel the press of the freezer walls closing in.

He worked to slow his breathing, not wanting to wake Scott. The other boy was surprisingly good at picking up those kinds of changes, even if he was asleep, passed out like a rock.

Isaac gave himself a few minutes to try to calm down, his blankets tangled around his legs. He kicked them off, not liking how they felt like restraints. He willed the nightmares to go away but it was there, edging around his thoughts, threatening to re-invade when he closed his eyes.

The clock read 3:16am in a soft green glow. He'd only been asleep for a few hours and he could hear Scott's slow breathing from the other room and the rustle of blankets as he rolled in his sleep. Melissa didn't move at night and all he could hear from her room was the light sound of her chest rising and falling, her heart beating calmly in time.

He got up. The room was dark and empty except for him and a few pieces of furniture. All of a sudden it felt oppressive and closed off from the rest of the house. He grabbed his pillow and went for the door, not bothering to close it again as he left.

He thought about going to Scott's room but he knew it would wake him and they had a math test later that day. Isaac didn't care about that kind of thing but he knew Scott wanted to do well, still trying to improve all his grades.

He carefully eased open the door to Melissa's room, grateful that she was just as heavy a sleeper as her son, without the heightened werewolf senses.

There was a plush carpet at the end of her queen size bed and he placed the pillow on it, still trying to be as quiet as possible. And when he laid down he fell asleep almost instantly, the darkness that had tried to consume him dissipating back into the locked up recesses of his subconscious.

* * *

It was the sound of Melissa shuffling around the room that awoke him the next morning, and when he sat up he found her sifting through her sock drawer. She smiled when she saw him.

"Morning sleepy head. Coffee's on downstairs and Scott should be up soon."

He blinked the sleep from his eyes and stared up at her in surprise. She didn't ask him why he had been sleeping on her floor, didn't at all act like waking up to find him in her room was anything out of the ordinary. Instead she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his curls and left the room.

The warmth that had taken root inside of him upon moving into the McCall house flared up and grew, spreading through him and making him smile. He'd been smiling so much lately that it no longer felt foreign on his face.

That was how Scott found him a minute later. He leaned against the doorjamb and when Isaac looked over he found that Scott was smiling too.

"Good morning," he said and Isaac couldn't help but think how perfect, how _beautiful_ he was in the morning sunlight, pajama pants slung low on his hips and his hair sticking up on one side.

"Good morning," Isaac replied, stretching his long limbs before standing up. He grabbed his pillow and went over to where Scott was waiting for him, stopping when they were only a foot apart. Scott had to tilt his head up, ever so slightly, to look him in the eye. Isaac always forgot how much taller he was, was used to feeling small.

But he didn't feel small next to Scott and the look his alpha was giving him made his stomach flip. The amount of pure affection in his eyes was enough to make Isaac feel like he was going to burst.

Scott didn't say anything, just leaned up and pressed their lips together and Isaac dropped the pillow. It wasn't like before. It was still soft and careful but Scott didn't pull away this time, instead reaching out to pull him closer. Isaac leaned into it, tilting his head to get a better angle and deepen the kiss, tangling his hands in Scott's hair.

They kissed like that for what Isaac thought was probably only a minute or two but felt much longer. The smell of coffee wafted up the stairs, mingling with their scent of wolf and the faint smell of Scott's shampoo from the shower he took the night before. It was heady and sweet and it was _home_.

Melissa's voice pulled them both back into reality.

"Boys! Come and get your food before it goes cold! And don't forget your math books in the living room!"

They broke away from each other, both of them grinning. They held hands on their way down to the kitchen.

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tumblr &amp; ao3 links on my profile


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